Lignocellulosic biomass is widely recognized as a promising source of raw material for production of renewable fuels and chemicals. The primary obstacle impeding the more widespread production of energy from biomass feedstocks is the general absence of low-cost technology for overcoming the recalcitrance of these materials to conversion into useful fuels. Lignocellulosic biomass contains carbohydrate fractions (e.g., cellulose and hemicellulose) that can be converted into ethanol. In order to convert these fractions, the cellulose and hemicellulose must ultimately be converted or hydrolyzed into monosaccharides; it is the hydrolysis that has historically proven to be problematic.
Biologically mediated processes are promising options for energy conversion, in particular for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into fuels. Biomass processing schemes involving enzymatic or microbial hydrolysis commonly involve four biologically mediated transformations: (1) the production of saccharolytic enzymes (cellulases and hemicellulases); (2) the hydrolysis of carbohydrate components present in pretreated biomass to sugars; (3) the fermentation of hexose sugars (e.g., glucose, mannose, and galactose); and (4) the fermentation of pentose sugars (e.g., xylose and arabinose). These four transformations occur in a single step in a process configuration called consolidated bioprocessing (CBP), which is distinguished from other less integrated configurations in that it does not involve a dedicated process step for cellulase and/or hemicellulase production.
CBP offers the potential for lower cost and higher efficiency than processes featuring dedicated cellulase production. The benefits result in part from avoiding capital costs associated for example, with substrates, raw materials and utilities required for cellulase production. In addition, several factors support the realization of higher rates of hydrolysis, and hence reduced reactor volume and capital investment using CBP, including enzyme-microbe synergy and the use of thermophilic organisms and/or complexed cellulase systems. Moreover, cellulose-adherent cellulolytic microorganisms are likely to compete successfully for products of cellulose hydrolysis with non-adhered microbes, e.g., contaminants, which could increase the stability of industrial processes based on microbial cellulose utilization. Progress in developing CBP-enabling microorganisms is being made through two strategies: engineering naturally occurring cellulolytic microorganisms to improve product-related properties, such as yield and titer; and engineering non-cellulolytic organisms that exhibit high product yields and titers to express a heterologous cellulase and hemicellulase system enabling cellulose and hemicellulose utilization.
Three major types of enzymatic activities are required for native cellulose degradation: The first type are endoglucanases (1,4-β-D-glucan 4-glucanohydrolases; EC 3.2.1.4). Endoglucanases cut at random in the cellulose polysaccharide chain of amorphous cellulose, generating oligosaccharides of varying lengths and consequently new chain ends. The second type are exoglucanases, including cellodextrinases (1,4-β-D-glucan glucanohydrolases; EC 3.2.1.74) and cellobiohydrolases (1,4-β-D-glucan cellobiohydrolases; EC 3.2.1.91). Exoglucanases act in a processive manner on the reducing or non-reducing ends of cellulose polysaccharide chains, liberating either glucose (glucanohydrolases) or cellobiose (cellobiohydrolase) as major products. Exoglucanases can also act on microcrystalline cellulose, presumably peeling cellulose chains from the microcrystalline structure. The third type are β-glucosidases (β-glucoside glucohydrolases; EC 3.2.1.21). β-Glucosidases hydrolyze soluble cellodextrins and cellobiose to glucose units.
A variety of plant biomass resources are available as lignocellulosics for the production of biofuels, notably bioethanol. The major sources are (i) wood residues from paper mills, sawmills and furniture manufacturing, (ii) municipal solid wastes, (iii) agricultural residues and (iv) energy crops. Pre-conversion of particularly the cellulosic fraction in these biomass resources (using either physical, chemical or enzymatic processes) to fermentable sugars (glucose, cellobiose and cellodextrins) would enable their fermentation to bioethanol, provided the necessary fermentative micro-organism with the ability to utilize these sugars is used.
On a world-wide basis, 1.3×1010 metric tons (dry weight) of terrestrial plants are produced annually (Demain, A. L., et al., Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 69, 124-154 (2005)). Plant biomass consists of about 40-55% cellulose, 25-50% hemicellulose and 10-40% lignin, depending whether the source is hardwood, softwood, or grasses (Sun, Y. and Cheng, J., Bioresource Technol. 83, 1-11 (2002)). The major polysaccharide present is water-insoluble, cellulose that contains the major fraction of fermentable sugars (glucose, cellobiose or cellodextrins).
Bakers' yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) remains the preferred micro-organism for the production of ethanol (Hahn-Hagerdal, B., et al., Adv. Biochem. Eng. Biotechnol. 73, 53-84 (2001)). Attributes that favor use of this microbe are (i) high productivity at close to theoretical yields (0.51 g ethanol produced/g glucose used), (ii) high osmo- and ethanol tolerance, (iii) natural robustness in industrial processes, (iv) being generally regarded as safe (GRAS) due to its long association with wine and bread making, and beer brewing. Furthermore, S. cerevisiae exhibits tolerance to inhibitors commonly found in hydrolyzaties resulting from biomass pretreatment.
The major shortcoming of S. cerevisiae is its inability to utilize complex polysaccharides such as cellulose, or its break-down products, such as cellobiose and cellodextrins. In contrast, termites, with the help of microbial species that reside in their guts, are efficient at breaking down cellulose. However, whether or not termite cellulases could be expressed in yeast systems was not clear, as termite cellulases could be endogenous insect cellulases or symbiotic cellulases (bacterial, protist or other). The post-translational apparatuses in yeast and insects (e.g., the glycosylation machinery) are quite different, and thus it would not be expected that a termite protein could be properly expressed in yeast. As for bacterial symbiotic cellulases, it would be more predictable to express them in a bacterial host, such as E. coli. Therefore, to address the limitations of currently known bioprocessing systems, the present invention provides for the successful heterologous expression of termite cellulases and termite-associated symbiont cellulases in host cells, such as yeast, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The expression in such host cells is useful for efficient and cost-effective consolidated bioprocessing systems.